Since June, Ed Sheeran’s fans in India have been hooked to Sapphire, listening to it on a loop. But what if we said that the chartbuster’s India connection goes beyond Arijit Singh, Shah Rukh Khan, the locales, and the pop star mouthing the Punjabi line in that adorable manner? In the song’s background, sits a sound born in South India. Percussionist Ganesh Murali Iyer playing the ghatam for Sapphire and other songs in Sheeran’s upcoming album Play is a reminder that sometimes the oldest instruments have the freshest things to say.

When Iyer walked into the recording session in May 2025, he wasn’t sure what to expect. A call from the A&R team at Warner Music India had informed him that he had been chosen by Sheeran’s team to contribute to the record. “I never expected they would want an Indian classical musician, especially a percussionist, for this project. Nowadays, most pop music is produced electronically. So, it surprised me to see that Ed wanted to record Indian instruments on the album,” Iyer tells us over a phone call.

(L-R) Ganesh Murali Iyer with Ed Sheeran